J. Kalani English on the 2002 Legislature

By Senator J. Kalani English

Haleakala Times
May 15 - 28, 2002

In the final week of the 2002 Legislative Session, the Legislature approved a budget which did not take back phased tax cuts and did not raid the Hawai'i Hurricane Relief Fund.

The budget addressed issues of school facilities, repair and maintenance as well as new construction. It also targeted healthcare with $38 million for capital improvements to Maui Memorial Hospital and operational subsidies to Moloka'i General Hospital of $700,000 and Hana Community Center of $750,000.

Funds set to lapse - $750,000 for Maui's St. Francis Renal Dialysis Center and $1,000,000 for Hale Makua's 16-bed expansion, were re-authorized. Emergency medical services to Kula were expanded, and the biennium allocation of $50,000, at risk of being cut earlier in the Session, was increased to $100,000.

A big plus for the fast growing Upcountry community, included in the capital improvement program (CIP) budget, is the $3,000,000 allocation for the expansion of the Makawao Public Library from its existing 5,362 square feet to 12,363 square feet.

Maui County received a significant amount of highway money, including $4 million for Kihei-Upcountry Highway; $600,000 for Hana Highway improvements at Baldwin Avenue; $1,500,000 for Hana Highway Improvements, Huelo to Hana; $150,000 for Hana Highway improvements, Uakea Road to Keawa Place; and $2,000,000 for Hana Highway rockfall mitigation, Huelo to Hana.

In a very tight budget year, I was pleased that the Emergency Environmental Workforce received $500,000, and I will continue to seek funding for this effort from the private sector, contributors, corporations and foundations.

Other session success stories include the passage of the bottle bill (House Bill 1256, introduced by Rep. Hermina Morita), a bill for the protection of caves (Senate Bill 2898, which I introduced this Session), the beach liability bill (I introduced Senate Bill 796 in the 2001 Session), and bills regulating health insurance rates and capping gas prices.

Each of these bills deserves fuller discussion, and I look forward to covering them in future issues.

Serving the past two years as Senate Majority Floor Leader and on six of the Senate's twelve committees (Ways and Means; Health and Human Services; Education; Commerce, Consumer Protection and Housing; Water, Land, Energy and Environment; and Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs) required stamina and a great deal of will power. It was time and energy well spent. I would do it again, given the privilege to do so.

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